Sunday morning sleep-in #26

"Southern fried" breakfast this morning.

After all the bacon, eggs and hash browns have been fried up, I throw a couple slices of bread in the leftover grease and brown them on both sides.

Much better for dipping in the yolk than regular old toast. (What's that funny pain in my left shoulder?)

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The Big E is home for good.

This morning the USS Enterprise will sail down that channel across the south end of the Chesapeake Bay for the last time.

Her planes are already gone from her decks. They've all been flown in to local airfields, like Patuxent River and Oceana NAS. All her ordnance and excess stores were hauled off by helicopters last week. She will ride high in the water.

Last week, while the ship was making a stop in Mayport, Florida, they took on board a plank-owner by the name of Ray Godfrey. He rode out with her on her first departure, and he will ride in with her on her final return.

As she passes the Thimble Shoal light, she'll make a gentle turn to the left and her sailors will line the rail, dressed in their best Cracker Jacks. She will glide slowly over the tunnel between Fort Monroe and Willoughby Spit before making the hard left towards the Norfolk docks. The tugs will take over and nestle her comfortably against the pier.

The grand old lady will never sail again.

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